Casting Sculptures for Life

Few artists find more challenge in their work than sculptors because of the many different ways material can be used to create art. Most people, when they think about sculpting at all, imagine a lone artist patiently chipping away at a hard stone to create a work of art. While this is one of the ways sculptors do create, some of them use casts to create their works of art. There are many times when a single piece of any material would be too large or heavy to create it as a solid, so some artists must make casts and pour their material into it to create the piece they envision.

Large Art Pieces

Art comes is all shapes and sizes, but many tend to think of sculptures as being extremely large. The Statue of Liberty in New York is one example of how large a sculpture can be. This piece was designed as an entire sculpture, and then it was broken down into smaller sections. Each section was recreated as a cast, and then the copper was melted until it could be poured into each cast. This is how the statue that stands today was created, but there are also small pieces that exist made by using the same techniques.

Hollow Statues

Few people are aware that the majority of large metal sculptures are made hollow on purpose. They could be made as a solid piece, but the effort to move them would be too costly. Rather than deal with the expense of a team of movers, sculptors create a shell of their piece and pour their material into it. Molten metal is generally used, but there are other materials to create sculptures.

Sculpting with Clay

Unlike metal, clay that is used for sculpture is not excessively heavy. There is little to be gained by an artist making a piece hollow to make it easier to move, but there are other reasons to cast it into a mold. The work of some artists will be used over and over again, so making a single mold is the best way to continue their creations indefinitely. Other artists simply find it is easier for them to do a few piece all the same, and they use a mold to ensure each piece has matching parameters.

Creating Art for the Home

Commercial artists have a very different task than their counterparts, and creating casts is one of the ways they accomplish their goals. For those who work at commercial companies such as Roy Kirkham, their work is to create beautiful sets of fine bone china that will grace the dining rooms of homes all over the world. The casts they create are filled with clay slurry that will eventually become a cherished set of china given to a new couple, and it will become an integral part of their family’s celebrations.

Art is everywhere in the world today, and sculptures have long been a part of it. Looking at pieces in a museum or park is nice, but even enjoying the beauty of a set of china in the dining room is a way to enjoy the artistic creativity of a sculptor.